Advocis praises new premier of Saskatchewan for repealing tax on insurance

Advocis and its members in Saskatchewan are praising the new premier of the province, Scott Moe, for fulfilling his leadership campaign promise to reinstate a provincial sales tax (PST) exemption on life and health insurance premiums. The government announced its decision Feb. 26.

"We're very pleased with this decision and would like to congratulate the new premier for making good on his campaign promise," said Greg Pollock, president and CEO of Advocis in a Feb. 26 announcement. "This was absolutely the right thing to do." The PST is being repealed retroactively to August 1, 2017, the date the tax was implemented following the 2017 Saskatchewan budget.

Hurting the vulnerable

"Saskatchewan is now headed back in the right direction," says Pollock. "The tax was a bad idea, and maintaining it would have a very negative impact on consumers in the long term. It was already hurting vulnerable residents such as those on fixed incomes and families struggling on minimum-wage incomes."

Other provinces were watching this issue closely, added Pollock. The decision “will hopefully make other jurisdictions think twice about implementing similar insurance premium taxes that will hurt consumers' long-term financial security."